Invisible...but Obvious

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer,

                  believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24   

I am just an ordinary woman, who lives with my Aunt in one barangay of Cagayan de Oro City. I am a working student in Capitol University and luckily, my aunt's house is near our school so, I need not to ride a jeepney or tricycle every time I go to school. Everyday on my way to school, I will pass through Jesus Nazareno Church & Gaisano City Mall, same route when I go home at night. If in the morning I woke up early, it has been my habit to pray first inside Nazareno Church before heading to school, but if I woke up late, I prayed there in the evening, on my way back to my aunt's home. 

Every morning, while walking along the highway, I can see lots of different people rushing and walking so fast catching up their time for work, afraid they might be late. I can also see beggars & disabled people alongside the street, asking for money, foods or anything that they can make used of. I can also see on the other side a jeepney driver and what we call in bisaya a "konduktor" shouting and calling for passengers. I can also see lots of construction workers, heading to their construction site bringing with them their lunch box prepared probably by their wives. I can also see students from different schools or universities, nurses, office workers and a lot more. Then, while seeing those people passing through, I came to realized & asked myself these questions (almost every morning): 

"What might be their problem from this moment?" 

"This girl beside me, when she left their home, did she kissed her parents? Did she left home happy? or.. had an argument with her parents or siblings instead?"

"This guy in front of me, waiting for a tricycle, is he happy this morning? Does he had enough allowance for today?"

"This beggar beside the street, was she able to eat her dinner last night?"

"These construction workers, are they good? Don't they feel sick and tired of their job? Are they receiving enough wages? Were they able to give their kids' needs & wants? Are their salaries enough for their family?"

"Those students, do they have problems same as mine being a student? Are they also working students like me? Have they been honest to their parents about their grades in school? Are their parents aware of their activities here in the city? Are they living with their parents? or living with some relatives same as mine?"

I have so much questions in my mind that for sure i can't answer right at that moment... My questions in mind doesn't end there, remember what I said? That was when I was walking along the highway... When I am inside the church to pray, that's another story..

When I am inside the church, another set of different people in front, side & back of me. I usually kneel to pray in the second or third pew  inside the church to avoid distractions from people passing through. While walking in the aisle, there i can see people who are silently praying. I can see people crying while praying, some people will just stand at the back to pray and then silently move out (maybe rushing for work). So, before I kneel down to pray, the very thing that usually do is to SMILE IN FRONT OF JESUS. Why did I smile? I smile, as my conclusion to whatever and whoever I saw before I will pray in front of Him. I smile as my way of saying to Him: "Hey, I know that you know already what I'm going to pray today!" or "Hey, I got lots of prayers to say to You today!" :-)

We exactly know that those people I met or maybe those people you (yes! you the one reading this) met are completely STRANGERS for us. Of course, we just saw them that day, we don't know their names, I don't know their names, I don't know where they came from, their age, their works, their number of kids, their workplace, their cellphone numbers and etc. They are STRANGERS to me. But, seeing those faces, by just asking those questions in my mind, I can say that their needs and what they want in their lives are just same as mine, to be happy and to be blessed by God.. and that's not strange for me. I know that every person I met, has problem or problems, might be financial, family, work related, friend-relationship & all the kinds of problems in the world. Invisible, yet obvious. Invisible problems for me since they're strangers but obviously, they need my prayers. They need someone's help, advice, guidance, protection & companionship. We may never know that the very person you met one morning is been suffering from a disease where he/she has no money to buy his/her medications. You were just unaware maybe that the person sitting beside you in a jeepney or tricycle just lost one of his/her family member.. some maybe is broken-hearted, left behind, no money to buy food, no money to pay her/his tuition fees and he/she will not be able to take his/her exam. Those are just INVISIBLE to you, one thing is, OBVIOUSLY, people needs our prayers. People is asking us to pray for them, whatever they've been struggling. A simple prayer will do. 

So, after smiling to Him, I offered prayers for those people I met, that in my part, WHATEVER their INVISIBLE problems are, God will be with them and help them solve those problems... I remember this line from Alexander Whyte: "The greatest and best talent that God gives to any man or woman in this world is the talent of prayer." Offer someone a prayer though you don't know even the least detail about him, even if you just met him in the street or elsewhere. You will never know that by simple prayer, you will save someone from his sufferings. Pray. That's powerful! :-)

So, start now.. How sweet it is to be prayed by someone whom you don't know. Remember this quote: "What goes around, comes around". Someone might be praying for you too.. you just don't know.

"God bless you beautiful hand-made of God!

 ”Ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."  - Matthew 7:7